Mayor Eric Adams called Monday for Gov. Kathy Hochul to “lead the charge” in mapping out where handgun possession can be banned under terms of last week’s US Supreme Court decision that eased the way for state residents to get carry permits.
During an unrelated news conference in the Bronx, Adams said there were “certain things” that city officials can do — including prohibiting people from bringing firearms into government buildings — but added that we “can’t just classify something as a sensitive location” where guns aren’t allowed.
“We have to do this as a partnership because if we do it incorrectly, we’re going to open ourselves up for another ruling,” he said in response to a question from The Post.
“So, we want to coordinate with the cities, coordinate with our city council, our local lawmaking bodies and have the governor lead the charge on what new definition of sensitive locations should be, because we have to get it right.”
Hochul said Friday she planned to call state lawmakers back into session as soon as this week to address the Supreme Court ruling, saying they would identify “places that have a heightened level of concern — schools, places of worship, events over a certain size, for example.”
Mayor Eric Adams called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to “lead the charge” in the response to the Supreme Court’s gun permit ruling. J. Messerschmidt/NY Post
Adams said the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule a 1913 New York gun law has made the country and New York City a “very dangerous place.” Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty ImagesAdams — a former city cop who told The Post about the crime problem he inherited during an exclusive ride-along on an overnight subway patrol, “Let me tell you something: When I started looking into this, I was shocked at how bad this place is” — also said officials had yet to figure out how the NYPD would keep order in public places not deemed sensitive locations, saying that in a year or so, there would be “a substantial uptick in guns and people carrying guns.”
“We’re looking at how do we change our policing strategies to this new norm in our city,” he said.
Adams added: “Listen, let me tell you something: The Supreme Court really made America a very dangerous place, particularly in New York City.”
Adams wants Hochul to declare certain areas in the state to be “sensitive places” where guns aren’t allowed. Craig Ruttle/Newsday via AP, Pool, File“I just don’t know what they were thinking about to allow this to happen,” he said.
In a 6-3 decision ruling Thursday, the high court struck down a 1913 state law known as the Sullivan Act that required New Yorkers who applied for carry permits to show “proper cause” why they needed to be armed in public.
Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, said the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects “an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home” and that it’s not a “second-class right.”
“We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need,” he wrote.
